Target
by magicsunbeam
Summary: An attempt on Jack's life has tragic consequences


Title: Target Author: Magicsunbeam Email: magicsunbeam@ntlworld.com Category: Drama, Angst Pairing: Rating: PG Season/sequel: Summary: An attempt on Jack's life has tragic consequences.  
  
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions; all the powers that be, not me; This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement intended. The story is the property of the author and may not be posted without the author's consent. Author's Notes: A bit odd, but the end to this story came before I had even got the beginning! I've never worked a story back to front before. it was most interesting, if not a bit disconcerting. g  
  
  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Daniel poked his head round the office door and, making his friend jump, cried cheerfully. "Hey Jack, we're off to raid the kitchen. You coming?"  
  
"God, Daniel. What's wrong with you? You nearly gave me a heart-attack!"  
  
Daniel smiled slyly. "You do it to me often enough Jack, I'm just returning the nasty feeling." He laughed. "So, are you coming?"  
  
"Nah, I need to get through a mountain of paperwork before Hammond's briefing tomorrow." He said, pulling a face that made Daniel chuckle.  
  
"We'll bring you back a sandwich, okay?" The younger man asked, then walked away without waiting for an answer.  
  
Jack went back to work, muttering under his breath as he started filling out reports.  
  
A few minutes later he became aware of someone approaching his office. As the door began to open, Jack dropped his pen on the floor. Getting up to retrieve it, he had his back turned to the door.  
  
"That was quick, Danny. You think I was going to waste away or something?"  
  
The answer he got was a whisper quiet, "phut, phut."  
  
A sudden white-hot pain in his side, coupled with shocked surprise, hit Jack like a ton of bricks and he felt himself falling into blackness.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^~~~  
  
"You think Jack will go with Tuna?" Daniel asked, gripping a roast beef and mustard sandwich to his chest.  
  
Sam laughed. "Not unless you hide that beef sandwich, you know he's a red meat man."  
  
"What if I told him chef sneezed on the beef?"  
  
"DanielJackson, that would be a lie. The chef is in fact meticulous with hygiene, he would not do such a thing." Teal'c stated solemnly.  
  
Sam giggled. "Give it up Daniel. If your face doesn't drop you in it, Teal'c will."  
  
Teal'c was about to ask what he would drop DanielJackson into, then thought better of it.  
  
Instead, he pushed open the door to O'Neill's office, to find a bleeding and unconscious Colonel sprawled out on the floor.  
  
~~~^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
General Hammond walked down the corridor to the infirmary to be met by three worried faces.  
  
"What happened, Major?" He demanded.  
  
"The Colonel's been shot, sir. We don't have a clue by whom."  
  
"Shot? What's his condition?"  
  
"It's not clear yet, sir." Sam said, worriedly.  
  
Leaving SG1 out in the corridor, Hammond walked into the infirmary looking for Janet. He found her barking orders for blood and a fresh IV line.  
  
"Doctor, I can see you're busy here, but what can you tell me?"  
  
Taking the penlight out of her pocket and checking Jack's eyes for reaction, she brought the General quickly up to speed.  
  
"The Colonel has taken two rounds, both to his right side. One has gone through, the angle suggests it passed close to a kidney. The good news there is we found an exit wound. The second shot was a flesh wound. It caused minimal damage. He's lost a lot of blood, is in shock and if you don't mind General, we need to get him prepped for surgery."  
  
Hammond immediately backed off, allowing the medical staff in. He then followed the procession out of the infirmary and watched with rest of SG1, as the Colonel was taken into theatre.  
  
He turned to Sam. "Major, I want a 24 hour guard put on the Colonel, until we can find out who in the hell did this and why."  
  
"I will take the first watch, Major." Teal'c stated.  
  
Hammond eyed the huge Jaffa and couldn't help but be happy, in the knowledge that he personally, would be guarding his number one Colonel.  
  
"Thank you, Teal'c." he said.  
  
Teal'c, in return, bowed his head in acknowledgement.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was several hours before Janet felt she could relax over Jack's condition. He had come through the surgery very well, but the amount of blood he had lost from those two small wounds made her a little unhappy. Add to that, the fact that there was a need for a 24 hr guard to be placed on her infirmary, and it made her one very jumpy doctor.  
  
When she came to do the fifteen minute check on her only patient, she wasn't surprised to find Sam and Daniel had already taken up residence.  
  
"How's he doing, Janet?" Daniel asked.  
  
"Better, Daniel. Still not good, but better. Are we any closer to finding out who did this?"  
  
Sam shook her head. "Due to the fact it was close to midnight, the base was running on a skeleton staff. Everyone can account for their whereabouts and no one saw anything or anyone out of place. It's a mystery, Janet."  
  
"It means that whoever did it can come back and take a second shot." She shivered slightly at the thought.  
  
Janet looked toward the door and Teal'c. Sam followed her gaze and smiled.  
  
"I'd like to see them get past him."  
  
Janet laughed softly. "Yeah, me too."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Jack woke slowly. Rising up out of the darkness, he could hear Sam's voice calling for him to open his eyes. He struggled to do so and was rewarded with one of her most dazzling smiles.  
  
"Hey, Janet. Look who's awake." She called.  
  
A moment later, Janet was at his side.  
  
"Hey Colonel, welcome back. You had us worried for a while there."  
  
He looked from one woman to the other. Janet saw the confusion in his face and explained.  
  
"You were shot, Colonel. Do you remember?"  
  
Jack thought for a moment before weakly shaking his head. As he did so, the movement jarred him and he winced at the pain that shot through his side. Janet moved immediately in and fiddled with his meds line. Just a few moments later, Jack felt the pain recede again and visibly relaxed. His eyes slipped shut as he drifted once more into unconsciousness.  
  
Sam looked up as Teal'c, who had just changed guard with Lieutenant Reed, approached Jack's bedside.  
  
"Colonel O'Neill's condition is improving?" he asked Janet.  
  
Janet smiled. "Yes, Teal'c. He's on the mend."  
  
The Jaffa nodded his approval and took up his place, standing against the wall at the foot of Jack's bed.  
  
Janet couldn't help but smile at the man's dedication.  
  
"Teal'c, you have just come off a ten hour watch. Why don't you go and get some rest?" she asked.  
  
"Thank you doctor, but my symbiote sustains me well. I will stay to watch over Colonel O'Neill. Should my body need it, I can enter Kel-no-Reem."  
  
Janet laughed. "Well, I can't argue with that." She said, making a note on Jack's chart. "Sam, don't stay too late, okay? You at least, need to sleep."  
  
With that she took one more look at the sleeping Colonel and went off to her office.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^~ Jack racked his fuzzy brain and found that it didn't matter what he did, he just could not bring up a picture of the man who had shot him.  
  
"I didn't see him." He told General Hammond. " I remember hearing him come to my office door. I dropped something and went to pick it up. I don't remember anything else."  
  
"Okay son, take it easy." Hammond replied, seeing Jack's irritation. "No sense in getting riled up. It just means we get to play detective for a while longer, that's all."  
  
"It's been four days, General. I would have thought we would have come up with something by now." Daniel muttered quietly.  
  
"Believe me Dr Jackson, we're trying. We *will* get the son of a bitch too, it's just taking a little longer than expected."  
  
"Look, guys. I don't care how long it takes, but I want first swing at him, deal?" Jack tried to shift to a more comfortable position and was plagued by pain instead.  
  
Janet saw his discomfort and pulling rank, she called a halt to the proceedings.  
  
"Okay folks. I think our Colonel has had enough excitement for one day. It's late and I want you all out of here."  
  
General Hammond nodded. "Very well doctor. Good night Colonel, get a good night's rest." With that he left.  
  
Janet raised an eyebrow at the two remaining SG 1 members. Neither protested, instead they said their goodnights and left. Sam and Daniel met Teal'c at the door, just as Lieutenant Reed was once more taking over his watch and together the three went off to their quarters.  
  
Janet fiddled with Jacks IV, looking down into the bleary eyes that were watching her every movement.  
  
"That should help the pain, Colonel. Get some rest." She said smiling, knowing that before she had even got out of the room, Jack would be sound asleep.  
  
~^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Reed had worked out his plan, right down to the last letter. For the past three nights he had watched Janet Fraiser and her team. No one had taken the slightest interest in the young Lieutenant hovering in the background. However, Reed had been watching closely, absorbing and storing every last detail.  
  
He had studied the infirmary's work roster and, for the next week at least, the graveyard shift team would be Fraiser and one nurse, Kelly Humphries. He knew that last rounds were at 23.00 hrs and when she was done, Fraiser would take first shift allowing the nurse to catch some sleep. She would invariably go to her office to catch up on paper work and, unless called upon to do so, she would not leave her office until 3.am.  
  
Colonel O'Neill's condition was now sufficiently stable and Fraiser no longer allowed the rest of SG1 to camp out beside their CO. They had been out of there as soon as the doctor had started her checks.  
  
Reed glanced at his watch. 1.45, time to go. He stole silently into the infirmary.  
  
The Colonel wasn't too hard to find in a room full of otherwise empty beds. Machines and monitors no longer surrounded the man, all that remained was an IV line, which was pumping God knows what into the Colonel's body. Reed could feel his blood beginning to boil again. The idea of O'Neill lying comfortably in a bed receiving all the medical attention he required, whilst his father had died slowly and alone made Reed livid. His father had even been denied the chance to pass a message onto his wife and kid.  
  
Hands shaking, Reed reached into his pocket and retrieved a syringe. Carefully uncapping it, he approached Jack's bedside. He picked up the IV line and was about to inject into it when Fraisers voice made him jump wildly.  
  
"Lieutenant, is there something you wanted?" She asked.  
  
"I erm, I just wanted to see how the Colonel was doing." Reed stuttered.  
  
Raising an eyebrow, Fraiser asked. "At almost 2 o'clock in the morning?"  
  
Reed hesitated, making Fraiser even more suspicious.  
  
"What's that in your hand?" She pointed, then when she realised what she was looking at, alarm bells screamed in her head. She started out for the alarm button on the far wall, scattering a trolley laden with instruments as she went, but didn't even make it half way across the room before Reed was on her.  
  
Pinning her to the cold floor, he turned the needle on the doctor. Realising the mortal danger she was in Janet began struggling for all she was worth. As Reed brought the needle closer, she managed to grab his wrist and bite down hard on his hand.  
  
Reed yelled in pain, as automatically, his hand released the needle and it rolled away under a bed. Now enraged, he raised a clenched fist and backhanded Janet across her face, knocking her head off the floor. He then wrapped his hands around her throat and began to slowly squeeze the life out of her. The last thing that Janet registered was the mad, bulging eyes of the crazed Lieutenant.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hearing a noise behind him, Reed turned, shocked to find the Colonel standing there, clutching an IV pole.  
  
"Take your filthy hands off her." Jack growled and with all of his strength, slammed the pole into the side of the young man's head. The lights went out, and Reed slumped to the floor.  
  
Swaying, Jack stood for a moment watching the fallen man through bleary eyes, before letting the now bent pole drop to the floor.  
  
He then realised his knees were about to give way and he folded his legs, allowing himself to sink to the floor. From there, he pulled himself over to where the doctor lay.  
  
Gently and with shaking hands, he touched her face. Her bottom lip was split and there was already an ugly bruise beginning to appear along her jaw line.  
  
"Bastard." He cursed at Reed.  
  
"Doc?" he rasped, already exhausted and out of breath. His trembling fingers found a strong pulse and he let out a sigh of relief.  
  
Already aware Reed was beginning to stir, Jack pleaded. "Come on, Doc. You've got to get up."  
  
Janet remained unresponsive.  
  
Jack summoned his failing strength and managed to rise to his knees, long enough to push the alarm button above his head. He then slid back to the floor and wedged himself into a corner so he could remain upright.  
  
He knew he didn't have the strength to get to his feet, so with all his remaining power, Jack half lifted, half dragged Janet until she was resting against his chest. Picking up a scalpel, which had come to rest on the floor near him, he then wrapped his arms protectively around her as he watched Reed.  
  
Hearing the blaring of the Klaxon and knowing he could not remain conscious for much longer, Jack prayed that help would arrive before Reed regained his senses. He began chanting under his breath:  
  
`Come on Teal'c, come on Teal'c, come on Teal'c `.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
What seemed like only a moment later, he felt a hand on his shoulder.  
  
Reed.  
  
Jack lashed out in panic and felt gratified to hear a yelp of surprise as he struck something. He then felt strong hands restraining him and was surprised to hear a voice he knew.  
  
"Whoa, Jack! It's okay, take it easy."  
  
Jack forced his eyes open and found Daniel crouched down in front of him. For a second or two he was confused. He blinked at his young friend.  
  
"Daniel?"  
  
"Yeah Jack, it's me. It's ok now."  
  
Images flooded in on him and he struggled to sit up straighter.  
  
"I think Reed tried to kill me. He hurt Doc." He stated, instinctively tightening his grip on the still unconscious woman.  
  
"We know, but it's okay Jack. They have him now" Daniel told him, sitting back so Jack could see the Lieutenant being cuffed.  
  
Carter appeared in his line of vision. "Sir, Janet needs help. Teal'c's going to take her now, okay?"  
  
Jack blinked at her, feeling a darkness approaching once more.  
  
Teal'c crouched down in front of him. "O'Neill, will you allow me to help?"  
  
Jack looked down at the CMO, before nodding hesitantly. He then slowly released his grip, at the same time allowing Sam to take the scalpel from his hand.  
  
He watched Teal'c lift Fraiser easily and carry her to a nearby bed, where she was quickly lost in a swirl of activity.  
  
Suddenly utterly exhausted, Jack let go a huge sigh as an overwhelming feeling of relief washed over him. His eyes slipped shut and allowed himself to be pulled down into the darkness once more.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Janet woke slowly, fought to focus her eyes and found Sam's smiling face.  
  
"Hey Janet. How do you feel?"  
  
The doctor closed her eyes again as pain welled up from the back of her brain.  
  
"Headache." She said. "What happened?"  
  
"You were attacked." Sam answered solemnly.  
  
Janet thought for a moment, then jolted.  
  
"The Colonel! Reed was going to contaminate his IV line...."  
  
Sam placed a reassuring hand on the doctor's arm. "It's okay, the Colonel is okay. Reed is in the brig."  
  
Janet lifted a hand and scrubbed her face, wincing as she touched her now swollen jaw. Her hand then dropped to the flamboyant bruising around her throat.  
  
"I think he would have killed me too, Sam." She said quietly.  
  
"Oh I have no doubt about that, Janet. The Colonel stopped him."  
  
Janet turned her head to look at Sam.  
  
"He did?" she asked, obviously surprised. "The meds I gave him should have seen him through till morning."  
  
"I don't know about that, but it was he who managed to get Reed off you and put him down."  
  
Janet leaned up on her elbow. Searching for her patient, she found him sleeping soundly in the bed next to her. Shaking her head cautiously, she smiled softly.  
  
"You know, that man never fails to amaze me."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Daniel was with him when Jack woke from a nightmare.  
  
The archaeologist laid a hand on his friend's shoulder, speaking to him calmly as his breathing slowed and he got his bearings.  
  
"Jeezus, what a trip." Jack rasped, squeezing his eyes shut and running a shaky hand through his hair.  
  
When he opened his eyes again, he found a pair of very concerned blue ones gazing back at him and had to smile.  
  
"I'm okay Daniel, it was just a dre...." he stopped in mid sentence, shocked, when he realised the picture he had in his head of Reed throttling Fraiser hadn't been a figment of his imagination. He also remembered watching, as Reed had begun to regain consciousness, knowing he hadn't the strength to do anything to protect neither Fraiser nor himself.  
  
Seeing his panic and reading his thoughts, Daniel was quick to reassure him.  
  
"Take it easy, Jack. Janet's okay." He said, keeping his hand on Jack's shoulder, as he struggled to raise himself up in the bed.  
  
"Where is she?"  
  
"I'm here, Colonel." Janet appeared at his side. "Try to relax, everything's fine."  
  
Once again, relief swept over him as he sank back into the pillows and Daniel stepped back allowing the doctor to get closer.  
  
Jack studied her face, grimacing when he saw the bruised jaw and split lip.  
  
"Bastard." He whispered, barely audible.  
  
Janet smiled, despite the knowledge it would hurt. "I'm fine Colonel."  
  
Jack eyed her suspiciously, noticing she was wearing a turtleneck sweater. His face suddenly clouded with anger when he saw the beginnings of a bruise peeking over the top of the sweater. Janet saw his expression change and self-consciously tugged the neckline higher to hide it.  
  
"It's okay, sir. There's no lasting damage." She said, hurriedly.  
  
"It's not okay, and I'm going to have to kill him." Jack growled.  
  
"Urm, I'm afraid you're too late there, Jack." Daniel mumbled. When he received a puzzled look from his friend, he carried on. "Reed is dead."  
  
"Whoa, back up there Daniel. What did you say?"  
  
Janet took up the story.  
  
"General Hammond thought it best to question him in the morning, so he was left alone for the night. It seems Lieutenant Reed thought of all eventualities. He managed to conceal a strychnine capsule. The guards found his body a little while ago."  
  
"Damn it." Jack cursed, scrubbing his face and ran his hand through his hair once more.  
  
"With the attempt on yours and Janet's lives, it has to be assumed it was Reed who put those bullets in you in the first place." Daniel stated.  
  
"Ya think?" Jack muttered wearily.  
  
Janet studied him for a moment. "Okay, Colonel. You have some more mending to do before you get out of here, get some rest. Daniel, that goes for you too."  
  
Daniel was about to protest, but changed his mind when Janet raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"I'll be back to see you later, Jack." He promised.  
  
"In the *morning*." Janet emphasised.  
  
Daniel smiled and turned to leave.  
  
As the younger man walked away, something caught Jack's eye.  
  
"Daniel?"  
  
Daniel stopped and turned to look back. "Yes, Jack?"  
  
"What did you do to your hand?"  
  
Daniel lifted his left hand and looked for a moment at the bandage that was wrapped around it.  
  
"I, erm, didn't do anything, Jack." He smiled. "This time it was you."  
  
"Me?"  
  
"When we found you and Janet in the infirmary, you mistook me for Reed and took a swipe at me," Daniel paused before adding, "with a scalpel."  
  
Jack was genuinely shocked. "Geez, Daniel. I'm sorry!"  
  
"You were looking after yourself and Janet as best you could, Jack. There's nothing to be sorry about. It's just a small cut, nothing to concern yourself over." Daniel insisted. "Get some rest and I'll be back later."  
  
"In the *morning*." Janet emphasised again.  
  
Daniel chuckled to himself as he left the room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^~~~~~~~  
  
"Colonel. Come on sir, can you wake up for me?"  
  
Jack's eyes shot open and he warily looked about him.  
  
"It's okay, sir. You were dreaming again." Janet informed him.  
  
Jack scrubbed a hand across his face and let out a heavy sigh.  
  
"Reed?" Janet asked.  
  
"Yeah," he replied. "What time is it?"  
  
Janet looked up at the clock above Jack's head.  
  
"Just after four."  
  
Jack closed his eyes again and nodded his head in acknowledgement. Janet knew he hadn't drifted off again and after a little while asked:  
  
"Would you like something to help you sleep?"  
  
"What I would like," Jack said, tiredly. "Is for someone to explain to me why Reed did what he did. Why he came after me. I didn't even *know* him for Christsake."  
  
Sitting down on the bed beside him, Janet sympathised. "I'm afraid sir, that's something we may never know. What I do know is, if you had not heard him when you did, we would both be right dead now." Her expression serious, she added quietly: "You saved my life, Colonel. Thank you."  
  
Jack reached out a hand and touched her bruised face lightly.  
  
"Does it hurt much?" he asked.  
  
Janet laughed softly. "No sir, not much. As a Colonel friend of mine would say, `you did good. ` "  
  
Jack chuckled. "Glad to hear it. As a doctor friend of mine would say, `Get some rest`, you look like hell."  
  
Getting to her feet, she smiled widely at him.  
  
"Ditto sir, Ditto." She said as she walked away.  
  
^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Two days later General Hammond walked into the infirmary, to the usual sound of his number one team's banter.  
  
"Morning SG1. Colonel, how are you feeling?"  
  
"Oooh, you know me General, sir, I'm raring to go."  
  
"Well the doctor tells me, if all goes well, she'll let you go in a couple of days."  
  
Jack sighed. "That woman likes her job too much."  
  
Hammond's face took on a serious expression. "I have some news on Lieutenant Reed." Once he knew he had everyone's attention, he carried on. "It's not good news to start with, and I'm afraid it gets worse.  
  
Reed came from an air force background, his father William was a Captain and served with the Special Forces in Vietnam, The Falklands and Iraq. He was left behind on a mission inside Iraq. He was assumed dead, but nearly six months later his body was discovered by a special forces team in an abandoned prison camp."  
  
Sam observed her CO's face, noticing it becoming darker as the General went on.  
  
"Mark Reed was already in training with the air force when this happened. It seemed he was the model recruit. Top of the class in almost everything he did. After his father's death, his CO, Major Neil Lawrence noticed a change in Reed. He became withdrawn, pre-occupied. His grades and training suffered for a while, and then suddenly they began to pick up again. Lawrence put it down to grief. Reed passed out with flying colours and was assigned to Cheyenne Mountain two months ago. It would seem, Colonel, that Reed has had his eye on you all this time, waiting for an opportunity to take you down." Hammond looked squarely at Jack. "Hell son, I even placed you under *his* guard when you were brought here."  
  
"You couldn't have known, General." Janet said, approaching the group. "Reed had thought everything through properly, he was a clever young man."  
  
"Okay, okay. We know that he was a model soldier, well trained and clever." Jack all but exploded. "What I want to know is, *why*, when I didn't know he or his old man existed, would he want to kill me?"  
  
"Well Colonel, that's where it goes from bad to worse." The General said before carrying on quietly.  
  
"Mark Reed blamed the CO in charge of operations for his father's death. Captain Reed served with a Special Forces team, under the command of one Major Jack O'Neil. One L."  
  
The silence was deafening.  
  
"Oh, my God. He got the wrong man." Carter stated the obvious.  
  
"It would seem so, Major. With *our* O'Neill being commonly known to everyone as Jack, not Jonathan, Lieutenant Reed was indeed chasing the wrong man."  
  
Jack's colour was ashen. "What a stupid waste. A stupid, stupid waste." He muttered, crossing his arm over his face.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Four days later, Colonel Jonathan `Jack` O'Neill stood at the back of a group of mourners, in a churchyard in the small town of Century Falls. After the ceremony ended he turned to leave, only to be stopped by a hand being placed on his arm. A small, fragile looking woman stood before him. She gave him a watery smile before speaking.  
  
"Colonel, I want to thank you for coming all the way out here for my son. I know how busy you military people are, and I'm grateful you thought it important enough to come today. Did Mark serve under you?"  
  
Jack floundered for a moment, then smiled softly.  
  
"No, Ma`am. Not directly under me, but I knew of him. He was a good and loyal man, you should be proud."  
  
The woman brushed away a tear and smiled.  
  
"Oh I am, Colonel." She said. "I am."  
  
  
  
~~~end~~~ 


End file.
